With the result, the Gators recorded their second sweep of the season, improving to 6-5 overall and 3-3 in conference play, while CSUDH slips to 1-9 on the year and 1-4 in the CCAA.

 

SF State posted its second-best hitting performance of the season (.231) as Lauren Walsh and Robyn Hall tied for match-high honors with nine kills apiece, while Katie Judd (.429) and Sarah Lewis (.350) launched eight non-returnables of their own. In addition, Iris Tolenada hit .714 for the night on five kills in seven attempts with no errors to go along with a match-best 34 assists. Sarah Kurfess, meanwhile, anchored the Gator defense with 18 digs as the Purple and Gold maintained a 55-33 advantage in that category as a team.

 

“Our serving and passing was very good tonight,” said SF State head coach Michelle Patton. “It allowed Iris to run our offense effectively, and both our middles and outsides had great nights.”

 

The Gators set the tone for the evening early in opening set as back-to-back Walsh kills gave the host team a commanding 9-2 advantage. Moments later, Walsh served SF State to seven straight points, including an ace, which extended the lead to 17-4. The Toros managed to trim the deficit to eight at 23-15, following three straight Gator attack errors and a kill by Elaine Hicks. However, the margin proved too great to overcome as consecutive kills by Lewis closed out the frame. SF State hit .345 for the set as nine of its 15 kills (29 att., 5 errors) were launched by Walsh (5) and Lewis (4).

 

SF State never trailed in the second stanza after jumping out to a quick 6-0 advantage, courtesy of another Lewis kill. The Gators were never threatened for the remainder of the set as the lead ballooned to 10 points on two occasions, including a 21-11 margin thanks to a Judd kill. Consecutive SF State attack errors allowed CSUDH to narrow the gap to 23-16, until Walsh's kill and a block by the combo of Lewis and Hall gave the Purple and Gold a 2-0 set lead heading into intermission.

 

Set number three proved to be a tight battle in the early going as the two sides combined for eight ties and two lead changes. With the score knotted at 9-9, the Toros imploded with three straight miscues, once on a serve, once on an attack and another on a set, giving the Gators a 12-9 lead they would not relinquish. Shortly thereafter, SF State extended the margin to match point at 24-16, following a service ace by Katie Mullen, who was seeing her first game action as a collegian. However, CSUDH would not go quietly, reeling off four straight points to climb back into contention at 24-20. After a timeout, the Gators regrouped as Hall notched the match-winner off a feed from Mullen.

 

Hicks and Elizabeth Krieger had five kills apiece to pace the Toros, while Olivia White and Shelbi Vopnford finished with 10 assists and seven digs, respectively, in the loss.

 

The Gators close off their five-match homestand on Sunday, Sept. 26, when 20^th-ranked Cal State L.A. pays a visit to the Main Gymnasium for a key CCAA showdown. First serve is set for 1 p.m.